Bowden Press Conference Highlights

CLEMSON, SC -- Head coach Tommy Bowden holds his weekly press conference every Tuesday in the McFadden Building Auditorium. Clemson football players are also available at this time for the localmedia to interview. Below is the audio of these interviews.

"Of course we are always pleased to win but we must improve from a undamentals and a technique standpoint. As we begin to elevate our level of competition it will really cost us if we do not mprove in these areas. Our offense is designed to give players the opportunity to make big plays and so far I would have to say that I am pretty pleased with our ability to make a few of those plays."

The play of the Clemson defense so far this season:

"We are very pleased that our defense has been able to score some points for us this season but having them score is not our main goal. Of course we talk to our defense about trying to score, but points allowed is really the main goal. The only goal we set for our defense is to lead the ACC in points allowed and right now we are doing a good job in that area."

The growth of running back Travis Zachery on and off the field:

"Travis practices extremely hard and all the guys on the team really respect him. He challenged our authority a little bit when we fist got here but once he saw we were serious about doing things the right way he jumped on board with our plan. He has been a solid citizen off the field and with his personality he has really been a pleasure to be around. He is not the most talented running back but he does everything we ask and he plays hard all the time."

Playing Wake Forest:

"Wake Forest probably played us better last year than anybody. They really made it difficult for us to execute our offense and they did not give us any big plays. I would think that they will run a very similar scheme on defense to what they ran last year. They were a very good team last season and I expect them to play extremely hard and do some of same things that had success against us last season."

Wake Forest quarterback C.J. Leak:

"Our defensive philosophy is to make all quarterbacks execute. We are going to try and take away the run by out-numbering them on the line and we will play tight man coverage to take away the hitches and the quick slants. If he (Leak) can stand in the pocket under pressure and throw to his receivers under tight coverage than they will probably win the game."

WAKE FOREST'S JIM CALDWELL

On the offense:

"I think we did show some improvement, or played better at least, in the first half of that game (UNC). Sometimes it's tough to judge with a pretty good defense out there. As we look at the film and evaluate it, we certainly did improve. We made a few critical mistakes with the fumbles. We certainly made our plan to adjust slightly with the punt return to a totally different style of game. We'd normally like to be a little more patient with our running game. That really changed the complexity of the game - you keep dropping back on those guys and they've got some pretty good pass rushers that can give you some problems. We've got to keep moving forward. What's important is that it's obviously going to take some patience in some phases of our entire team. That's tough to do - to have that kind of patience. We have the makings of a good, solid team."

On the running game:

"I think there's a number of areas we need to improve upon, but not one particular facet that we can say 'well this is the problem and if we fix that we're headed in the right direction.' Timing also has a lot to do with it - how quickly they hit the holes. The timing of each play is a little different because they all run at a little different pace. Some might get a quicker start than others. So that timing factor is not only important in the passing game, but the running game as well."

On the offensive line:

"They're getting better. We're certainly a ways from where we need to be, but I think they're getting better. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Play from the previous week had improved, but we have a long way to go and we have to do it in a short period of time. One of the things I said (at the beginning of the season) I think at some point in time this season that line will be a good line, a solid line. Obviously, that's barring injuries and we've suffered a couple. I still think it's going to be a solid line, there's no question about that."

On Clemson:

"They really haven't changed at all. They use the same style (as last season) and their personnel is pretty much intact, give or take a couple guys here and there. Very few guys on our team remember (the 1998 game at Clemson). We've always played well down there. It's certainly a loud place to play. There's a lot of enthusiasm and I fully expect us to play well. We're going to take the field and be a better football team than we were last week. We have to be. And I think you'll seethat improvement."